Partnership Opportunities for Donors

In addition to our core work of administering the scholarship program that Betty Phillips established in 1991, we have recently decided to increase our impact by working with donors who want to follow in Betty Phillips’ philanthropic footsteps. This work includes both consulting with parties interested in learning about ways to create scholarship programs and actually administering new donor-funded scholarship programs.

Our comprehensive evaluation and selection model has been highly successful at identifying scholarship applicants who will perform well in and graduate from college. Our recipients’ 94% graduation rate has made partnering with us an attractive option for donors seeking to maximize the impact of their charitable contributions. Donors who collaborate with us see their gifting goals realized through the work of the highly qualified and experienced scholarship management professionals at Phillips, without the level of time and resource investment required for establishing and administering a new program.

Research by the College Board shows that over the past five years, the percentage of gift aid that post-secondary students receive from institutional and foundation scholarships has increased by 10% to account for almost 60% of funding, while the portion provided by federal and state grants has diminished accordingly. This decline in public funding means that private sector financial aid, including from scholarship providers like Phillips, now plays a more vital role than ever in making higher education possible for low-income students.

If you are interested in setting up a new scholarship program or supporting an existing one, please contact our Executive Director, Barbara Iler, at 978-744-2111 or Bwiler@spscholars.org

Our Record of Success:

The Stephen Phillips Memorial Scholarship Fund, Inc. has awarded need, and merit, based college scholarships to low-income, high achieving youth for 26 years.

Phillips has provided more than 3,800 students with over $58 million in scholarship support to attend four-year colleges and universities across the country.

The scholarship program is administered by a team of professionals with over fifty years of combined experience in scholarship management.

Using a comprehensive and rigorous evaluation model, Phillips processes nearly 1,300 new applications and 400 renewal applications each year. The scholarship management team selects approximately 10% of applicants annually for new awards and renews awards for approximately 400 Phillips Scholars returning to college each year.

Phillips Scholars graduate from college at a much higher rate than the national average (94% versus 59%), and each scholar has a history of providing meaningful service to their school, community or family.